The present invention generally relates to waterfowl decoy devices, and in its preferred embodiments more specifically relates to waterfowl decoy devices that provide wing movement and that provide wing movement, propulsion, and splashing action to simulate the appearance of live waterfowl.
Waterfowl decoys have long been used by hunters in an effort to attract ducks and other waterfowl to a particular body of water or to a particular location in a body of water. Traditionally, such decoys have been made as inanimate structures that are placed on a body of water and allowed to float passively thereon, without movement of any kind. In the past, passive stationary decoys have been reasonably effective in attracting waterfowl to land in proximity to the decoy or decoys. However, waterfowl adapt to changes in their environment, and in response to increased hunting pressure many waterfowl have become more cautious in their behavior and are less likely to be attracted by stationary decoys. It appears that many waterfowl have learned to distinguish the difference between live birds and stationary decoys. Among the primary difference between live birds and traditional decoys are movement, and splashing of the water. Live waterfowl are constantly moving their bodies and splashing water as they move and feed.
Attempts have been made in the past to overcome the problems associated with stationary decoys, and decoys that exhibit various forms of motion are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,960 to Riley discloses a decoy with a motor driven propeller and movable head. Other examples of propeller driven decoys include U.S. Pat. No. 2,814,146 to Propp; U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,064 to Webb; U.S. Pat. No. 3,074,195 to Vanderpool; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,000,128 to McAda. U.S. Pat. No. 2.443,040 to Jones and U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,416 to Laird disclose decoys with fully submerged paddle mechanisms to impart movement to a decoy. Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 2,747,314 to McGregor, which discloses a decoy apparatus with movable wings and head; U.S. Pat. No. 2,480,390, which discloses a decoy with movable wings; U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,448, which discloses a decoy with movable wings; and British Patent No. 383,031, which discloses a bird decoy with movable wings.
The efforts known in the prior art have been effective in producing one or more forms of motion, but have been much less effective in producing lifelike motion and imparting a realistic appearance to decoys, and in producing water movement around the decoys. Accordingly, they have been only marginally successful in providing the desired effect of attracting waterfowl. Many of the apparatus designs known in the prior art are complex in structure, adding to the cost of production and to the difficulty of use. There remains a need for decoy apparatus that produce movement to realistically simulate the appearance of live waterfowl. There also remains a need for decoy apparatus that produce movement of the water surrounding the decoy so as to realistically simulate the movement of the water created by live waterfowl.
The present invention provides a waterfowl decoy that addresses and overcomes the deficiencies and problems of the prior art by producing movement of appendages associated with the decoy, and that will also simultaneously produce splashing of the water around the decoy. The movement exhibited by the decoy of the present invention is produced by a drive apparatus that is simple in structure and operation, inexpensive to produce, and easy to install in a hollow decoy body of conventional design. The optional simultaneous movement and splashing actions of the decoy are simultaneously produced by the same drive apparatus.
The present invention utilizes a conventional floating decoy body, generally comprising a body with a hollow interior, a top, two opposing sides, a head end, and a tail end. An opening is formed in the top of the decoy body to provide access to the hollow interior for installation of the drive assembly, for installation and adjustment of appendage assemblies, and for operation of the drive assembly. The decoy body is also provided with a pair of shaft apertures formed in the opposing sides of the body through which drive shafts extend.
The drive assembly of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a pair of drive means, preferably battery powered electric motors, each of which drives a rotary shaft that extends through one of the shaft apertures in the sides of the body of the decoy and to which an appendage assembly is attached. In the preferred embodiment the output shaft of each motor comprises the drive shaft, and each motor is oriented in the hollow interior of the body with the drive shaft extending toward the adjacent side of the body and through the shaft aperture therein, so that the drive shafts are generally parallel to the surface of the water in which the decoy will float. The shaft apertures are positioned in the sides of the body, and the drive means are positioned in the hollow interior of the body, so that the drive shafts are disposed a distance above the surface of the water when the decoy is floating thereon. An appendage assembly is connected to each drive shaft so that rotation of the drive shaft will cause rotation of the appendage. The decoy of the invention may also be constructed with alternative embodiments of the drive assembly, if desired. A single motor, with a single output shaft, may be utilized to rotate the drive shafts through a gear box or other transmission assembly, or a single motor with dual opposed output shafts may be used, for example.
A variety of appendage assemblies may be interchangeably used within the scope of the present invention, and in the preferred embodiment at least the following appendage assemblies are provided: a paddle wheel assembly, a rotating wing assembly, a combined paddle wheel and rotating wing assembly, and a windmill wing assembly. Each of these appendage assemblies includes a hub component adapted to be connected to a drive shaft of the drive assembly of the decoy, with wing structures and/or paddle structures connected to the hub. With all but the windmill wing assembly, the decoy may be operated while floating on a body of water or may be placed on a stand on land or above the surface of the water. Because of the range of movement of the wings of the windmill wing assembly and the need for clearance below the decoy, windmill wing embodiment is operated with the decoy on a stand.
The structure and features of the preferred and various alternative embodiments of the invention are disclosed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.